October 08, 2024
Thom Carroll/For PhillyVoice
Camden wastewater utility American Water said it suffered a cyberattack last week. It's currently working with law enforcement and third-party cyber professionals to find answers.
Camden utility company American Water suffered a cyberattack last week, the company said Monday.
The water and wastewater management service said it found unauthorized activity in its computer network on Thursday, Oct. 3, that it determined was a cybersecurity breach. In response, it immediately notified law enforcement and third-party professionals and deactivated its customer portal, MyWater.
Currently, American Water does not think any of its facilities or operations were negatively impacted, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing about the incident.
Taking MyWater offline means that billing is paused until further notice, although the company said there will be no late charges or shut-offs in the interim. Its call center also has limited functionality.
Upon learning of the attack, American Water said it immediately activated incident response protocols for containment and investigation into the cause and extent of damage. At this time, it hasn't released further information about who is responsible.
"This investigation is ongoing and will take time to complete," the company said in a statement about the attack. "We take the cybersecurity of our systems with utmost seriousness and are taking additional steps to strengthen the cybersecurity of American Water’s systems. Our customers and the data we maintain remain our highest priorities."
American Water is the largest regulated water and wastewater utility company in the country, serving 14 million people in 14 states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as military installations.
